Great post, CRANKY YANKEE, and I couldn't agree with you more. There are an amazing number of superb and moderately priced guitars out there now. The drunk woman with 2 wooden legs story is just downright amazing and classic! A friend of mine lost a very fine old Martin when a large woman tripped and fell flat out on it at the Mariposa folk festival, utterly destroying the sound box in the process. She was not drunk, I don't think, just clumsy.

By the way, my first guitar was an "unplayable, fingertip torturing piece of crap my parents thought was good enough to learn with." (Actually, they just didn't know any better. I mostly blame the salesman. The thing was good for one purpose only...firewood.)


- LH